Taiwan, UK sign MOU on biological material patent applications

Taipei-Taiwan and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during their 20th round of trade talks in London Dec. 1 to facilitate the process of filing patent applications involving biological material.

According to a Saturday press statement from Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the MOU was signed between the IPOs of the two countries because of the increasing number of patent applications coming from the U.K. in the biomedical sciences field that involve biological material.

Currently, Article 27 of Taiwan's Patent Act reads: "When filing a patent application for invention involving a biological material or utilization of a biological material, the applicant shall, no later than the filing date, make a deposit of the biological material with a domestic depository designated by the Specific Patent Agency."

The MOU effectively simplifies the process through which the deposit takes place, eliminating the inconveniences and decreasing the costs associated with depositing biological materials in a foreign country, the IPO statement noted.

The IPOs are looking to increase the biotechnology, medicine, and food patents each country has in the other.

In addition to the signing of the MOU, the Taiwanese and U.K. delegations addressed issues such as measures to combat copyright infringement online and to improve the quality of patent reviews.

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